Our Daughter Just Turned Eleven

It makes no sense that human women do not
relate to animal women. It makes no sense that human women cook up animals,
since most animals that are eaten are young females.

Our daughter just turned another year, blowing out 11 candles on her
birthday cake. We make it a point every year to celebrate her birthday
completely separate from Christmas. Each birthday we always get out the
photo albums and look back at all the pictures of her all the way back to
her birth. I truly cannot believe that she has grown so much and that 11
years have gone by so quickly.

This year, as we were laughing at some
pictures of her she said something to me that just sort of "rocked my
world". She told me, you are a lucky mother that you get to see your baby
grow up. I knew immediately what she meant because we have raised her since
birth without eating animals and she understands what "meat" really is.

Not
too long ago, she read and was deeply affected by the inside cover of a
magazine that she saw of a mother cow crying for the baby that had been taken
from her. I don't remember the name of the group who ran this ad, but it was
incredibly effective.

I felt the pain of this terrified mother calling for
her baby for weeks afterward. But my feelings were entirely for this mother
cow. I did not put myself personally in the place of this mother cow until
my daughter's remark. When our daughter was born, there was no person on
this earth that was going to take our new baby from us. And other than the
occasional crazy person who roams the delivery ward looking to steal someone's baby, we humans know that our baby will be going home with us. The
instant attachment and need to protect is so powerful. We humans protect our
own and let the mothers keep their babies. We let the mothers raise their
babies into adulthood.

But when it comes to cows, pigs, chickens and every
other animal we have figured out how to "use", we think nothing of
separating mother from child. I look back at the many treasured experiences
my husband and I have had with our daughter and I feel so fortunate we have
had these experiences. I can only imagine how wonderful a cow's experience
with her baby could be, watching her baby grow up as he or she is learning
about the world.

I always wonder what the days will be like when ALL mothers
will be able to raise their babies without the traumatic experience of
kidnapping. I have often thought about how mothers everywhere should be the
leaders of all animal protection groups, demanding that all mothers and
babies be left alone. Mothers everywhere should not know the taste of an
animal. Fathers should not either because the father-instinct is just as powerful.
It makes no sense that human women do not relate to animal women. It makes
no sense that human women cook up animals, since most animals that are eaten
are young females.

Did you know that if you go to the baby food aisle in the
supermarket you will find veal as a baby food choice? Are we actually
serving baby animals to baby humans?!?! How in the world did this ever get
started?

Mothers...there is something seriously wrong here! Not only is the
mother separated from baby, but the baby, if a boy will become veal? If a
girl, she will be artificially inseminated (raped), to produce babies she will
never know and milk these babies will never drink. I cannot help but feel
intense anger toward those whose job it is to separate mother from child
with the intention to kill these animals, chop them up and sell them in
packages...the same anger I would be experiencing if my baby was taken from
me to be chopped up, packaged and served as "food". Our world will never be
right as long as we are creating such serious disharmony in the animal
kingdom, in the world.

Our daughter turned 11, but she still loves baby dolls and stuffed
animals. So we gave her a baby doll and a stuffed bear for her birthday. She
cares for them like a mother cares for her baby. It is truly a sight to see!
All females are born with this instinct and it is a treasure. Our daughter
is our treasure and we know that we are unfairly more fortunate than the
millions of mothers and fathers that will never know their babies. She knows
that as she is celebrating her birthday, millions of animal children will
never celebrate theirs.

Happy Birthday Rose, you are a lucky girl and yes,
you are right, I am a lucky mother, in so many unfair ways.

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